a small stack

Ok, went over the top of the changing table.

I found a place for hair stuff - a couple of weeks ago I bought an over door CD/DVD holder, and it's not full, so put the hair stuff in a little plastic bin on one of the bottom shelves.  So that's handled, sort of.  Still not sure where to keep the iron.  

But off the top of the changing table, I did manage to clear a bunch.  

From the left, that's a piece of cardboard, a nice ribbon, a stained yellow tank top that is not mine, a sticker, a CD that we've never listened to that was a toy inside some sort of happy meal, a stick that has been in the house for about two weeks, and under it all there is a super cute pillow cover that is stained, and the stain won't come out despite repeated treatments.  

The only bad thing is I put mod tot this in the trash, but then took it out to photograph it.  And I couldn't part with the cute ribbon.  Sigh.   So 6 things total today.  

Declutter 2013:

Day: 8

Items gone: 10!

Goal: still undecided

slowly

Aha - slowly getting things out of the blasted changing table.  

I think this used to hold baby grooming things - small scissors, nail clippers, etc.  GONE!

Declutter 2013:

Day: 8

Items gone: 4

Goal: still undecided

Ugh what do normal uncluttered people do with these?

Here's a great example of a problem - stuff you get that is perfectly fine but not needed.

Her birthday was in September.  This was a lovely balloon that accompanied presents (and actually there is a second balloon currently under the couch).  So, nearly two months later, am I supposed to kill this perfectly fine balloon and trash it?  If no, what the heck do I do with it?

This is the kind of stuff that paralyzes me.

Stacks

My house is filled with stacks.  Stacks of school papers, stacks of mail, stacks of books, stacks of shoes, stacks of STUFF.

I get a lot of catalogs and magazines in the mail.  Magazines are suffering from declining subscriptions, but I still like to hold something tangible and glossy in my hands.  So last year, when I ran across a raft of special subscriptions at $2-5 each, I snagged them.  So the magazines pile up.  And yes, I know all about stopping catalogs, but here's my dirty little non-environmental secret: I like catalogs.  I like flicking through the pages and seeing full size images of things that I may never buy, but are visually appealing.  I simply like them and I'm not apologetic.  But, I do not like discarding them - instead, I discovered that teachers of the younger grades like them for students to practice cutting and pasting (the physical version) pictures and words.  So I do big dumps every once in a while.

The stack of magazines and catalogs by the front door reached well over 2 feet - I missed dumping them off at school before the end of the school year and then they piled up more over the summer.  So this week I've done three bags to school.

Sadly I keep forgetting to take the last bag from the car into the school for the past few days, so I'm not done yet, but still it's nice to not have that stack by the door.  Though with holidays rapidly approaching they'll pile up soon enough again!

Declutter 2013:

Day: 6

Items gone: 3

Goal: still undecided

A start

Well, I've gotten one stack of papers thrown out. I am actually looking for something Elizabeth wrote to put on awwwtrouble, so started on the papers on top of the changing table. Didn't find what I was looking for, but I did find about half on there could be discarded. I guess my inch high stack only counts as one thing, though.

Declutter 2013:

Day: 5

Items gone: 2

Goal: still undecided

ONE!

I'm writing this on Monday, having had no blogging time on Sunday.  (And eventually there will be a picture but my plan of using drobox is backfiring when Dropbox won't work properly!).

Sunday night I was mulling over AwwwClutter and thinking I need some sort of theme or goal for November.  Is this about problem areas?  I could easily just wander around and take pictures of all the clutter in the house but that doesn't actually get me anything.  And then there's still shoes, do I want to touch on my shoes at all?  Should I pick an arbitrary # of things to discard by a specific time?

Im still undecided, but as I was leaving Elizabeth's room last night (one of the top problem areas, without a doubt) I spied a toy that was broken and palmed it.  She called me back into the room and I thought she had seen my grab, but she just wanted another kiss.  So I was able to bury it in the trash in my room.  It's a small solar powered plastic thing that was a flower - under light, the flower sways back and forth.  Andrew has one, too, in his window, but Elizabeth managed to break off the flower.  So it doesn't actually do anything.  And now it is in the trash, hooray!

Of course I did spend a minute wondering if I should get a replacement but nope.  It's gone and she will never know.

So that's one thing gone.  Maybe that is the best goal - decluttering at its most basic.  Just counting things out of the house.  I need a target goal - any ideas?  50?  More?  One a day, so 30?  Any ideas?

Declutter 2013
Day: 3
Items gone: 1
Goal:  ?? 

My problem area

This changing table is going to be a pain. Hence why it's been sitting in the dining room unused except as collecting area for the past two years. Before I even photograph it to sell online I have to clean it off, finding new living spaces fora bunch of random things. 

It's the resting place for Elizabeth's hair stuff. Not sure where on the main level we can keep it for the morning brushing. Hmm.  Maybe in the wine bar?  That way it's behind a closed door. There's also the Christmas cards from last year I didn't send out. Sigh. Also on top is a stack of papers from camps this summer, waiting to be sorted and a few key ones saved. 

Then there's four drawers on the left. Half are filled with stuff that we needed a place to stash - CDs, papers, random bits of this and that. The bottom drawers have some baby blankets and other random baby gear. 

And behind the door?  Our ironing equipment - where will that go? Plus more random baby stuff, plus two diaper bags. Tired to sell the diaper bags at the last co-op sale, but they didn't sell, so I can stash them with other to-be-sold stuff (overflowing in its own right) and try to sell in the spring. 

Ugh.  This is a project and a half, because after cleaning it out I need to photograph it and put online and deal with selling it. But the (I hope) $100 we'll get will make it worthwhile, right?

We bought a piano

And all anyone wants to know is where is it going to go?  Frankly, I want to know where it's going to go, too.  But I bought it. And scheduled lessons. So it's here to stay.  Just not in the middle of the dining room.  I hope.

Although it's a nice sized digital, It's still too big to go where I first thought it might, where the changing table is in the dining room. The changing table that we last used well over two years ago.  The changing table has to go.  Because possibly if I can move the secretary out of the hallway it will fit where the changing table was, and the piano can fit (with luck - the measurement is tight) in the hallway. 

Essentially we're at max capacity right now. There is no space to spare in the house. Time to seriously declutter, before Christmas.  And just in time for NaBloPoMo.  

So first, the stuff ON and IN the changing table has to go. And then the table. Then some rearranging, then the piano will be in place. Can this happen before the first lesson on Thursday?  Doubtful, but stay tuned!  (Har har)

and so it goes

While my sister did an amazing job motivating Elizabeth to make her room less of a disaster area, they didn't really tackle the root of the problem, which is stuff crammed everywhere.

I've started to notice that if Andrew is enjoying a particular toy a lot, it winds up squirreled away in Elizabeth's room.  This is annoying, to say the least.  

When he pulled out a little car set, and one car was missing, Elizabeth casually said it was in her room, in her nightstand.  I went to find it, but her nightstand was mysteriously empty.  So I went on a small rampage, rooting around in all her stashes.  

Never found the car.  But in 5 minutes of rummaging, I did find:  

1. A used teaspoon
2. a yellow cherry from the Hi Ho Cheerio game
3. a red butterfly from the Elefun game

That girl!  I am in a total funk right now over the toys, and specifically the games, and are really feeling a lot of annoyance directed at the nanny.  Games get hauled out and then pieces distributed everywhere.  It makes me crazy.  None of the games we have can be played right now.  None.  The pieces have been dispersed to the far corners of our house, never to be reunited again.  CRAZY.  ANNOYED.  

And we're heading toward Christmas, and more toys will make their way into our house, and the whole thing makes me think my head is about to explode.  

I'm gearing up for a huge toy sort, and it has to be done before Christmas.  And I have to comprehensively sort the main level, the basement, and her room, or the whole effort is fairly useless.  Why didn't we choose a nanny who was more organized than us?  Or at least even slightly organized?  Or who at least understood why toys should sort of go together.  I'm perpetuating my disorganization on another generation and it is making me grumpy and crazy.  

small steps

Ok, well, the journey of a thousand miles starts with a small step.

Today I explored trash regulations in DC and discovered that you can discard TVs at the transfer station on the first Sat of the month.  So, the giant TV in the basement, along with other hazardous waste like mercury filled burnt out light bulbs, will go away December 3rd.

Small steps.

discouraged

I'm writing this blog post 11/26, but backdating to 11/14.  Maybe I can catch up with NaBloPoMo, maybe not, but we'll see how it goes. 

So, after a frenzied weekend and exhausting Sunday, I"m mostly just waiting for Rich to get home.  Although some decluttering progress was made over the weekend, I'm feeling discouraged.  Everything that is on my todo list is overwhelming.  There is so much to do, and most of it is linked, or requires purchasing new items to properly organize or replace old items, or is just such a huge, tedious job there's no motivation.

Although I made a lot of organizing progress in the play area of the basement on Friday, it was also a depressing exercise.  There is soooo much stuff down there. It just feels claustrophobic.  Everywhere you turn, there's a stack or pile or jumble.  Attacking it requires so much energy and effort and quite honestly, it's just easier to not think about it.

Here's an example:  I have a GIGANTIC desk in the basement.  I bought it for $10 when I was in grad school.  It is huge, and heavy, and I've hauled it more places than I care to imagine.  It's an old metal school desk with a gigantic, smooth desk top surface that would be awesome for projects - if I could get at the desk and actually work at it.  Right now it's inaccessible in a corner of the basement, and on the top is a giant old TV and a stash of boxes of Cats Meow pieces (more than 80) that my parents bought at at auction for something ridiculous like $2.  Rich hates this desk (see the aforementioned heavy + moved many places).  I like it because surface area.  It would be a nice craft desk/area.  It's surrounded by so much stuff I can't even take a picture of it.

I've finally decided it needs to go.  I'd much rather have a large craft desk in the attic, with a storage cabinet.  The desk is too big and ugly to go in the attic.  So, I need $$ to buy a project table and storage cabinet.  I need to clean off the desk in the basement to photograph it and sell on Craig's List, or freecycle.  I need to clean OUT the desk if it's leaving - there's random stuff in drawers and some files.  It's just a huge, depressing project overall and so it just sits, hulking, taking up a lot of square footage.

You might feel better after decluttering.  I do feel better with decluttered area.  But it's a long journey to get there.

obsessing over holiday stuff

So yesterday my sister and I went to Target for a few necessary items, and wandered around a bit, too.  And we found some Halloween luminaries, originally priced at $12, marked down to $3.  They were super cute, Smith & Hawken, really nice, and pretty big.  And I sooooo wanted them.  But, I thought about how much Halloween stuff I already have, how this year I never lit any of the candles/luminaries I already own for Halloween until Halloween night itself, and how I just have too much stuff anyway.  It's too much stuff.  Too much.  In addition to getting rod of stuff, I've got to cut down on brining new stuff in.

But I still want them.

treading water

So when one half of a two-parent household is away, everyone knows it's all about treading water, holding the line, until parent 2 gets back.  No one expects the stay behind parent to really get anything done, and only hopes things don't completely go to hell in a handbasket.

So no to-do list this weekend.  I've still got two full days to go, so I shouldn't jinx myself, but I hoping I actually gain a teeny tiny bit of ground.  Not a lot of ground, but just enough to feel like I accomplished something.

On Friday, during my hour in the basement, I managed to clear space in front of the door to our basement closet (oh yes, it's bad down there when the piles are actually blocking doors!) and I found the bulbs from last year.  And they don't seem rotten, so worth trying to plant, let's see, 60 crocus bulbs, 20 tulips, and 12 daffodils.  When I actually get some amount of them into the ground then I've got a thing done, but for now I'm just kinda pleased I found them.

But I did manage to collect a small shopping bag of trash, so that's 1 thing.

Then, today, my sister (who is here this weekend so it's not even like I am truly going solo while my husband jets off to warmer climes), took one look at Elizabeth's room and put her to work organizing it.  There's a lot to be done, and I've been half heartedly planning to arrange some time when I'm not working but Elizabeth is with the nanny or at school to go through and just bulldoze that room into submission.  But Jennifer somehow enticed Elizabeth into doing some actual organizing, minor sorting, and trashing of some of the excess - another small bag of trash, but hey, it's progress.

So that's two things for this weekend.

Not much, but I'll take it.

Throw Out 50 things in November
To date: 2
Added:2
Current total: 4
Still to go: 46

this is how it works

Today Rich headed out for a trip, and I met my mom (who is at my brother's) and we went to the thrift store.  And I got TWO Christmas decoration items.  That will not fit in to the already overflowing stash of holiday decorations that currently exist in the basement.  Sigh.  They were cheap (less than $1 each), and I've wanted a glass container shaped like a Christmas tree.  Why, I don't know.  But now I own one.

But in penance (and because it is fricking cold - too cold for a walk to Target or the playground), I spent over an hour in the basement.  Some organizing progress made, but there is Much To Do.  Much.

still in the front hall

Yep, those are the two Halloween (and Thanksgiving) bins, still in the front hall.  I bought them many years ago, and parceled out an area in the basement for all holiday bins, and here's the thing, if every year you add one or two things (this year: a table runner and two placemats, last year: 4 large tumblers, 4 kids cups), you will run out of room.

What I need to do is aggressively go through the bins and get rid of things we really don't use.  That would help.

But what I really need to do is squish as much of this as possible in the bins, slap on the lids, and shove them in the basement.  (Although we haven't yet gathered up the Halloween books, sigh.)  And worry about where the Thanksgiving stuff (including a new acorn dish, new acorn bowl with lid, and cutest thing ever acorn salt and pepper shakers) will go later.  Oh good grief, there's a cornucopia someplace in the basement right now, not even out with the rest of the fall decorations as I've forgotten about it til this very minute.

The Christmas stuff started, 10 years ago, in 4 bins.  Now it's expanded to include another bin, two LARGE boxes, a couple of bags, and stuff shoved randomly on the shelves.  There's an easter bin that's overflowed, too.  And a random holiday bin (Valentine's, St Patricks, 4th of July).

How do you store your holiday decorations?  Maybe you don't have a lot of holiday decorations?

Wait!  Rich is taking the bins down right now!  Wohoo!

Not quite 50

Ok, so yesterday I wrote about my friend TSM's sale in which I participated in September.  I tagged 39 items for sale.

And I sold 18 of them!  For $85 dollars!

And, can you see the top tag there?  I even sold A PAIR OF SHOES!  These shoes, to be precise, ones I thought were total duds and would never sell.  OK, os it took me almost a year to get them out of the house once I decided they had to go, but I recouped $10 from their purchase! Wohoo!

So I love selling.  But, uh, two downsides.  Because at the sale, other people also set out their great past purchases for super cheap, and I can't actually tell you how many things I purchased.  Though they've been nearly all great buys - 6 pairs of pajamas for A, several outfits for E, a couple of key Christmas presents.  What I really need to do is sell enough to cover my costs entirely.  (The accounting above says I spent $58, but it was more because I paid cash for a bunch.)

Second downside - the 18 things that did not sell.  Which are in one bin, in my front hallway.

Well, it's just one bin.  And the stuff is already tagged.  So I can just bring it to the next sale (except things like the stupid snow pants, which I can't sell til next Fall).  I just need to clear some space on our storage shelves and store this box (get it OUT of the front hallway!), plus start gathering new sale stuff for spring.  

Thanks TSM for the encouragement to do this!  

I tried to throw out 50 things

My friend TSM is heavily involved in a neighborhood co-op of women who sell their gently used children's items twice per year.  She tried to get me to be a new seller for the spring sale, but it conflicted with t-ball, so I finally got to participate for the fall sale.  In September.  E's birthday weekend.  Right in the midst of what I was already dreading as hell week, early childhood style. 

As a new seller, you're allowed to sell 50 items.  Perfect, I thought, what a way to get rid of 50 things, and then I will blog about it, and I can finally close that browser tab that has linked to the throw out 50 things website for 18 months.  I knew I could fairly easily find 50 things to sell, without even really getting into all the stored baby stuff I have amassed in the basement.  I started mentally deciding which things I would tag and sell. 

This sale is pretty elaborate (and to protect anonymity I'm being fuzzy on details).  There are strict rules for what you can sell and how you tag your items, and how you are supposed to contribute to the organization of the sale (ie, volunteer time).  I knew I had to get my act together and start gathering and sorting items.  As per usual, I kept putting it off, though I did root around in a few boxes in the basement and continue my mental cataloging.  Mental cataloging worked fairly well until E grabbed the stupid Lincoln logs she had not played with at all in three years and decided they were the Best! Toy! Ever! thus reducing my catalog by one item. 

About a week before the sale, just as our hell week was starting, I said to Rich, you remember in the midst of the soccer and the birthday parties and the school snacks and everything else that I am doing the sale, too, right?  Noooooooooo, was of course his answer.  But I had it all figured out - if I just tag 10 things a night, skipping E's actual birthday, I'll be done in plenty of time and be all organized.  That of course changed to well, if I just tag 15 items a night.  Which turned to 20 items a night.  Which then turned into, ok, I have two hours before I have to be there, what can I grab and tag quickly? 

When your house is totally cluttered (and some credit here, you've done a fair amount of advance thinking about it), you actually have quite a bit you can grab.  Which meant instead of 50 things, I started my plan with 39 things to sell.  But that was still a pretty good effort, and heck, one of the problems in discarding things is coming to terms with the value of those things, so selling 39 things was a good first step. 

So how'd I do?  Say tuned for tomorow's update (hey, what can I say, NaBloPoMo is a bitch and I'm already weary of posting, so dragging this out!)

Throw Out 50 Things

About a year ago I read an article about a book by Gail Blanke, Throw Out 50 Things.  It was featured by the newspaper's personal finance columnist, because she felt it helped clear your mindset and not just declutter your house, but your life, too. 

Well, as you can see from my sidebar, my various schemes have resulted in far more than 50 things removed from the house, but I'm not sure I feel that much more clarity in my life.  Though there is always a sense of accomplishment when an area is clean and organized. 

I like schemes.  They help you frame whatever it is you're working on.  I've had this throw out 50 things mantra in my head for over a year now.  So one of my goals for this month is 50 things gone.  Four pansies (and the $10 they cost) taunting me in the hall for the past couple of weeks gone.  46 more things to go! 

Weekend 1 - how'd we do?

OK, whew.  Exhausted.  My friend TSM made huge progress on her to-do list, and I think I hate her a little tiny bit for it. 

The pansies are in the ground.  OK, that's big, and that's 4 things out of the front hallway.  (oh, I haven't mentioned, I'm also going to count things out of the house this month - tomorrow's post will explain more).  I did not dig out the bulbs from the basement, but I have a plan for when I could get some of them in the ground (Wednesday morning).  I dug up a part of the front yard, but more needs to be done.  Back yard not touched at all, except I finally put out birdseed (also bought at the time of the pansies). 

Halloween decorations are all down, and mostly packed in their bins, but that still needs to be finalized and bins taken down.  Might finish this tonight. 

Laundry mostly done, but all still needs to be folded and then put away.  Will finish this up tomorrow. 

I almost made it into the basement but the urge passed.  So no real progress on any of the hot spots.  The front hall is a good one, as comment-ers pointed out it's the first room you walk into when you enter the house, but it is DAUNTING.  Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork.  More to come on this. 

And, I clipped coupons and discarded expired ones, but have not filed the new ones yet.  I have a System, you see (believe it or not).  I did make it to the grocery store, but only to get things we really needed.  Maybe Monday or Tuesday, before the sale ends, I will go coupon shopping over my lunch break at work. 

Items out of the house:  4
Goal for month:  50

Saturday check in

OK, well, the pansies didn't go in the ground, and I didn't clear the clutter by the basement closet door to try to find the bulbs.  Halloween stuff has started to gather on the dining room table, and coupons were clipped but only partially sorted.  So it's a long to-do list for Sunday.  But we did manage E's soccer game, watching UVA crush MD (from the couch, sadly, not in person, but that also meant I got a short doze in), and a playdate with E's new school.  That's a full day right there!